1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology. More particularly, it concerns nucleic acid based probes and their uses for detecting epigenetic modifications in nucleic acid.
2. Description of Related Art
Epigenetic modifications are regarded as fundamental elements in gene expression regulation. DNA methylation, one such modification, plays crucial roles in widespread biological phenomena including host defense in bacteria and cell cycle regulation, gene imprinting, embryonic development and X-chromosome inactivation in mammals. Aberrant DNA methylation patterns in gene promoters are closely associated with perturbations in gene expression and have recently been indicated as a leading cause of human cancers. Likewise, N6-methyladenosine, a ubiquitous modification in prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes, is related to many biological functions and human diseases in different tissues and cancer cell lines with the highest levels detected in the brain, heart and kidney (Meyer at al., 2014). Epigenetic modifications, such as N6-methyladenosine modification, are also involved in various physiological processes such as obesity, synaptic signaling, sperm development, stem cell differentiation, circadian periods, yeast meiosis, plant development and oogenesis. However, despite the importance of epigenetic modifications and rapid and significant advances in gene sequencing technology, methods for detecting and quantifying epigenetic changes remain elusive.